Papers Session: Science, Religion, and Gendered Bodies Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words) This paper examines Rosemary Radford Ruether’s feminist theology in relation to the sex-gender distinction, arguing that while she maintains the stability of biological sex, her framework struggles to separate sex from gender. By incorporating insights from contemporary biological studies, Ruether’s emphasis on sexed embodiment can be maintained while avoiding rigid gender binaries and accounting for transgender embodiment. The paper explores her interpretation of Ancient religious myths and their symbolic gender roles, foregrounding inconsistencies in her treatment of gendered symbolism versus human gender constructs. It engages with biological research to challenge essentialist views of sex and gender and modify Ruether’s view. This leads to the suggestion that, when symbolizing the divine through sexed/gendered qualities, this should be done by figuring them as a “scatterplot” of female-typical and male-typical traits. Ruether’s revised perspective, informed by biology, offers a middle ground between Marcella Althaus-Reid’s constructivist approach and Pope John Paul II’s essentialism. Authors Timothy Perron timothyperron@gmail.com View
